Chris Treadway: Richmond conference on homelessness planned

Regional and national leaders on addressing homelessness will be in Richmond this month for the third annual conference hosted by local organization Saffron Strand.

"Defragmenting the Homeless Continuum: Linking Pathways to Self-Sufficiency" is the theme of the conference on June 18-19 at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium, 403 Civic Center Plaza.

Saffron Strand is a membership organization dedicated to helping homeless people in Contra Costa County find gainful employment and reach economic independence.

The Richmond-based program provides membership for free to homeless adults in return for their time and work at its center, including training intended to make them employable.

The organization was joined by Mayor Gayle McLaughlin for an overnight vigil on May 26 and 27 at Civic Center Plaza to show support and concern for homeless people locally and around the county.

According to county officials, an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 residents are homeless at some point during the year and about 5,000 at any given time.

The conference is co-hosted by the city's Human Rights and Human Relations Commission and the West County Mayors and Supervisors Association. Workshops and other sessions with 10 expert presenters in the fields of employment, health care and housing will discuss approaches to issues such as job-training, transportation, recovery from substance abuse, physical and mental health and shelter.

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The conference is open to individuals and public and private agencies working to address homelessness, as well as those who have experienced it.

WEST COUNTY NOTES: The West County First 5 Center has been granted funding up to $575,000 for next year by First 5 Contra Costa.

The 5-year-old West County center in San Pablo provides services and programs to families with children 5 and younger under the statewide First 5 program, established in 2004.

The grant was part of $5 million in three-year funding awarded by the umbrella First 5 Contra Costa agency to centers in West County, Antioch, Bay Point and Monument after a competitive bidding process.

The 1939 feature "Confessions of a Nazi Spy," hailed as the first anti-Nazi film from Hollywood before the entry of the United States into World War II, leads off the fourth annual Home Front Film Festival at 7 p.m. June 14.

The Warner Bros. film, which stars Edward G. Robinson as a G-man in search of spies, will be shown in Hold 4 on the historic ship SS Red Oak Victory, 1337 Canal Blvd. in the Port of Richmond.

The film series is hosted by the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park and the Richmond Museum of History. Admission is $5, and popcorn will be available.

The series continues with screenings June 28 ("All Through The Night"), July 12 ("Desperate Journey"), July 26 ("Watch On The Rhine"), Aug. 9 ("Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo") and Aug. 23 ("The Clock.)"

A free workshop designed to assist clients new to Medicare will be held from 2 to 4:40 p.m. June 20 at the West Contra Costa Adult School Alvarado Campus, 5625 Sutter St., in the Richmond Annex.

The session hosted by HICAP, the Contra Costa County Health Insurance and Advocacy Program, will provide information on all parts of Medicare, supplements and low-income subsidy programs. No preregistration is required. Details: www.cchicap.org or 510-215-4666.

A pair of celebratory services to mark Pastor Alvin C. Bernstine's six years at Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church, 684 Juliga Woods St. in Richmond, will be held at 10:45 a.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday.

The services will feature guest preachers from area churches. Details: 510-232-0193.